Combine like terms to create an equivalent expression. $0.25k+1.5-k-3.5$
Solution: Combine the ${\text{coefficients}}$ of the $k$ terms, and combine the ${\text{constant}}$ terms. $\phantom{=}{0.25}k+{1.5}{-1}k{-3.5}$ $=\left({0.25}-{1}\right)\cdot k+{1.5-3.5}$ $=(-0.75)\cdot k-2$ $=-0.75k-2$ The simplified expression is $-0.75k-2$